Chemically strengthened glass has recently gained attention for use in mobile device display covers due to its enhanced mechanical properties. However, cutting chemically strengthened glass poses challenges because of its high surface compressive stress, derived from the ion exchange between Na+ and K+ during the strengthening process. To address this, we propose an efficient method for cutting chemically strengthened glass by integrating electrochemical discharge (ECD) and grinding processes. The ECD process helps alleviate surface compressive stress through reverse ion exchange, while the grinding process helps mitigate compressive stress on the bottom surface without flipping the glass. Chemical composition analysis of the cross-section of glass cut along the line treated by the ECD process revealed that this method can induce reverse ion exchange on both the upper and bottom surfaces of chemically strengthened glass. Furthermore, nano-indentation hardness tests conducted on the cross-section demonstrated that the subsurface hardness could be reduced by the ECD process, indicating a relaxation of the surface compressive layers. It has also been proven that chemically strengthened glass can be successfully cut using this method, suggesting it offers a viable solution for efficient glass cutting.

There are various micromachining processes available for manufacturing highly integrated and precise parts, each having its own characteristics and limitations. The degree to which micromachining processes meet the requirements depends on characteristics of parts that are different, making it difficult to determine the most appropriate process. In this context, the present study presents an algorithm for determining the optimal micromachining process by applying the Fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS technique frequently used for multi-criteria decision-making. Fuzzy AHP was employed for calculating weights of requirements for a given part. Fuzzy TOPSIS was employed for determining ranks of candidate processes based on weights of requirements and evaluation of processes. Fuzzy logic was applied to handle ambiguous and inaccurate information encountered in evaluating the relative importance of requirements and performances of processes. The case study in which the optimal process for micro-hole drilling of a fuel injection nozzle was determined showed that the proposed method was effective. It could be extended to micromachining of various shapes.

In this study, we propose a novel and simple fabrication method of the microfluidic device, with high-aspect-ratio (HAR) microchannel for microparticle separation under viscoelastic fluid flow. To fabricate the HAR (> 10) microfluidic device comprised of the Si channel and PDMS mold, basic MEMS processes such as photolithography, reactive ion etching and anisotropic wet etching of Si wafer were used, and then plasma bonding with mechanical alignment between the Si channel and PDMS mold was conducted. The width of the microchannels was determined by the difference between the Si channel width and the master width for the PDMS mold. On the other hand, the heights of the Si channel and PDMS mold could be controlled by the KOH etching time and spin-coating speed of SU-8, respectively. The HAR microfluidic device whose microchannel had 10 μm width and 100 μm height was successfully fabricated, and used to separate microparticles without other external forces. The effect on the particle focusing position and focusing width under viscoelastic fluid was investigated, depending on the flow rate and the microparticle size. It is expected that precise manipulation as well as high-throughput separation of microparticles, can be achieved using the microfluidic device with HAR microchannel.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationship between surface roughness and touch perception of surfaces with randomly spaced, irregular features. Two sets of specimens with top surfaces consisting of triangular peaks and valleys were modeled and 3D-Printed by varying the height of the peak, the depth of the valley, and the width between two intersections of the peak or valley with the center line. For one set of specimens, values of these variables were kept constant within a specimen but varied across specimens. For the other set of specimens, values of these variables were randomly selected in given ranges within a specimen while ranges were varied across specimens. The level of touch perception of each specimen was then measured using a questionnaire consisting of 16 adjectives related to touch perception and a 7-point Likert scale. Measured data were statistically analyzed and compared between different sets of specimens. Results indicated that it was inappropriate to directly apply findings of the previous studies for surfaces with regularly spaced, geometrically well-defined features to surfaces with randomly spaced, irregular features.

The present study develops a method for directly measuring the temperature field in the primary deformation zone with a high spatial resolution during 2-D orthogonal machining. This is enabled by the use of a high-speed, charge-coupled device (CCD) based, infra-red (IR) imaging system which allows characteristics of the temperature field such as the location and magnitude of the highest temperature and temperature gradient in the primary deformation zone to be identified. Based on these data, the relation between the machining temperature and the cutting conditions is investigated.

The material removal mechanism in machining is significantly affected by the cutting edge geometry. Its effect becomes even more substantial when the depth of cut is relatively small as compared to the characteristic length which represents the shape and size of the cutting edge. Conventionally, radius or focal length has been employed as the characteristic length with the assumption that the shape of cutting edge is round or parabolic. However, in reality, there could be various ways to determine the radius or focal length even for the same tool edge profile, depending on the region to be considered as cutting edge in the measured profile and the constraints to be set in constructing the best fitted circle or parabola. In this regard, the present study proposes various models to determine the characteristic length in terms of radius or focal length. Their physical compatibility are validated by carrying out 2D orthogonal cutting experiments using inserts with a wide range of characteristic length (30 ? 180 μm in terms of radius) and then by investigating the correlation between the characteristic length and the cutting forces. Such validation is based on the common belief that the larger the characteristic length is, the blunter the cutting edge is and the higher the cutting forces are. Interestingly, the results showed that the correlation is higher for the radius or focal length obtained with a constraint that the center of best fitted circle or the focus of the best fitted parabola should be on the bisectional line of the wedge angle of tool.

We present a simple and low-cost method to fabricate poly(methyl-methacrylate) (PMMA) nanochannels with various shapes by combining the standard optical lithography with a PMMA layer transfer and collapse technique. We utilized PMMA membrane reflowing/collapsing phenomena into microchannels to fabricate nanochannels at both corners of arbitrarily-shaped microchannels. This allows nanochannels with various shapes such as curved nanochannels as well as straight nanochannels to be easily fabricated since the shape of the microchannel determines the shape of the nanochannels. This nanochannel fabrication method is simple, flexible, and low-cost since the standard optical lithography with low-resolution optical masks can be used to fabricate nanoscale channels as small as 100 nm wide with various shapes. Also, the sealing of nanochannels can be naturally achieved while the nanochannels are formed through the polymer layer transfer and collapse.